Editing Antelope, Oregon (section)

==History==
The Antelope Valley was probably named by European-American members of [[Joseph Sherar]]'s party, who were packing supplies to mines in the [[John Day Fossil Beds National Monument|John Day]] area.<ref name="OGN">{{cite book | last = McArthur | first = Lewis A. | author-link = Lewis A. McArthur | author2 = Lewis L. McArthur | title = Oregon Geographic Names |orig-year = 1928 | edition = 7th | year = 2003 | publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press | location = Portland, Oregon | isbn = 0-87595-277-1 | page = 27}}</ref> Sherar became known as the operator of a toll bridge across the [[Deschutes River (Oregon)|Deschutes River]], on a cut-off of the [[Barlow Road]].<ref name=OHS>{{cite web|last=Jette|first=Melinda|title=Sherar's Hotel & Toll Bridge, c. 1910|url=http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=8A131DA8-92FB-C912-7A9F8C3B09FBF50D|work=The Oregon History Project|publisher=[[Oregon Historical Society]]|year=2004|access-date=September 20, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927025345/http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=8A131DA8-92FB-C912-7A9F8C3B09FBF50D| archive-date= September 27, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> In the early 19th century, the area supported many [[pronghorn]]s, which are not true antelopes, but are often called "pronghorn antelopes".<ref name="OGN"/>

===19th century beginnings===
In the mid-19th&nbsp;century, Antelope began as a station along the wagon road connecting [[The Dalles, Oregon|The Dalles]] on the [[Columbia River]] with gold mines near [[Canyon City, Oregon|Canyon City]]. After about 1870, the wagon road became known as [[The Dalles Military Road]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Regional History|url=http://www.paleolands.org/find/time/here/C45|publisher=Oregon Paleo Lands Institute|year=2013|access-date=August 11, 2013}}</ref> The road crossed the Deschutes River on Sherar's Bridge.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Corning|editor-first=Howard McKinley|title=Dictionary of Oregon History|publisher=Binford & Mort Publishing|location=Portland, Oregon|edition=2nd|year=1989|orig-year=1956|page=241|isbn=0-8323-0449-2}}</ref>
[[File:Antelope Schoolhouse (Wasco County, Oregon scenic images) (wascDA0063).jpg|thumb|The historic [[Antelope School]] building, which currently houses municipal offices and various community functions including the annual harvest dinner event]]

The Antelope post office was established in 1871, with [[Howard Maupin]], founder of [[Maupin, Oregon]], as the first postmaster.<ref name="OGN"/> The town's population peaked around 1900,<ref name="Moffatt"/> shortly after the [[Columbia Southern Railway]] completed a {{convert|70|mi|km|adj=on}} rail line from [[Biggs, Oregon|Biggs]], on the Columbia River, to [[Shaniko, Oregon|Shaniko]], a few miles north of Antelope.<ref name="Culp">{{cite book|last=Culp|first=Edwin D.|title=Stations West: The Story of the Oregon Railways|pages=100&ndash;101|publisher=Bonanza Books|location=New York|year=1978|oclc=4751643}}</ref> The railroad timetable for September&nbsp;9, 1900, lists a daily stagecoach run from the train terminal in Shaniko to Antelope and beyond.<ref name="Culp"/> Antelope was [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] by the [[Oregon Legislative Assembly]] on January&nbsp;29, 1901.

===Rajneesh movement ===
[[Image:AntelopePlaque.jpg|thumb|A plaque at the Antelope post office commemorates local resistance to the Rajneeshee movement]]
[[Rajneeshpuram]], a farming and meditation commune founded by the [[Rajneesh movement]], followers of [[Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh]], was established near the town in 1981. The town attempted to disincorporate in April 1982 to avoid a takeover by the Rajneesh followers, who registered to vote in Antelope en masse and rejected the measure. The Rajneeshees gained a majority on the town council following the November 1982 elections and resignation of two other members.<ref>{{cite news |last=Senior |first=Jeanne |date=December 15, 1982 |title=Council hands control of Antelope to Rajneeshee |page=C1 |work=The Oregonian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-council-hands-control-of-a/155687212/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=September 20, 2024}}</ref> On September 18, 1984, the city was renamed "Rajneesh".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/1985/07/incorporation_of_city_opens_do.html|title=Incorporation of Rajneeshpuram opens door to development (part 9 of 20)|work=OregonLive.com|access-date=June 9, 2018|language=en-US|quote=Sangeet also became city attorney for Antelope, Rajneeshpuram's nearest neighbor, which was taken over by sannyasins and renamed Rajneesh. Sangeet is an acharya.}}</ref>

The organization collapsed in 1985 following the discovery by the authorities of criminal activities, such as a [[1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack|bioterror attack]] a year prior that exposed non-Rajneeshees in Wasco County to [[salmonella]] to prevent them from voting. On November&nbsp;6, 1985, the remaining residents, which included both original residents and some remaining Rajneeshees, voted 34 to 0 to restore the original name, and it was subsequently restored in 1986.<ref name=AntelopeOfficial/> The [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]] had never recognized the change of name.<ref name="OGN" />

Subsequent to the collapse of the commune, the property reverted to ownership by the State of Oregon for non-payment of taxes, and was sold to Montana billionaire [[Dennis Washington]] in 1991 for $3.65 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/20/us/antelope-journal-oregon-ranch-with-a-troubled-past-faces-a-dubious-future.html|title=Antelope Journal;Oregon Ranch With a Troubled Past Faces a Dubious Future|last=Egan|first=Timothy|work=The New York Times |date=October 20, 1995 |access-date=May 3, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Currently, the ranch, {{convert|18|mi|km}} from Antelope,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Abbott|first=Carl|title=Rajneeshees|encyclopedia=The Oregon Encyclopedia|url=http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/rajneeshees/|publisher=Portland State University|access-date=August 12, 2013}}</ref> is operated by [[Young Life]], a Christian [[parachurch organization]], as a Christian youth camp known as "Washington Family Ranch".<ref>{{cite web|title=Washington Family Ranch |url=http://sites.younglife.org/camps/washingtonfamilyranch/default.aspx |publisher=Young Life |access-date=August 11, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330080945/http://sites.younglife.org/camps/washingtonfamilyranch/default.aspx |archive-date=March 30, 2013 }}</ref>

The events of the mid-1980s that involved the Rajneesh group were the subject of the 2003 ''[[Forensic Files]]'' TV series episode "Bio Attack", and the 2018 [[Netflix]] documentary ''[[Wild Wild Country]]''.